Anuj and Shvetna Joshi were attracted to the third-storey loft in Tartan's Vaughan model. The home is built on a 38-foot lot in Jackson Trails in Stittsville.Wayne Cuddington
/ Ottawa Citizen

Carolyn and Chuck Vollicks were fine with the idea of a slim lot. They've been measuring the space as they get ready to move next week into their Heartstone bungalow by Holitzner in Barrhaven's Fraser Fields.Bruno Schlumberger
/ Ottawa Citizen

Related

Suburban lots have been on a long, quiet diet, trimming off excess feet in a bid to fit into the tight budget of couples and families shopping for a new single home.

Gone are the '60s and '70s, when families left the congestion and noise of the city for new homes on big lots and an expanse of grass in the burgeoning 'burbs.

Back then, big and fat was beautiful and affordable with lots stretching 50 or 60 feet wide and lawn mowers purring on weekends. But today, slim is the new reality, with 37-to 42-foot lots hitting the sweet spot for sales success of singlefamily homes.

"Thirty-eight feet and smaller is the new reality," says Chris Taggart, president of Tamarack Homes, which builds spacious two-storey homes on 38-foot lots across the city. It's all about yield -getting density in a city where land prices are rising, making affordability even tougher for cash-strapped buyers.

There is a growing contingent of slim lots from builders such as Urbandale and Phoenix, with their 35-foot lots, to Tartan and Tamarack, who are building on 37and 38-foot lots.

Then suck in your lot lines even more for a committed group of super-slim performers, starting with Mattamy's 30-foot lots in the Barrhaven community of Half Moon Bay, followed by Holitzner directly across Strandherd Drive, where it's wooing younger buyers with a series of two-storey homes and bungalows on 31-foot lots.

Minto, the city's largest builder, has also had success with 30-foot single homes.

Earlier this month, Holitzner introduced a pair of appealing two-storey model homes in Fraser Fields that look and feel spacious on the inside thanks to some design wizardry that includes half walls, split pillars, two-storey spaces, big windows and lots of finishing details, from niches to wide landings on the second floor.

It's only when you step back outside that you realize these energy-efficient homes are extra close to their neighbours. There are 84 lots in Fraser Fields and almost all of the two-storey homes and bungalows are on 31-foot lots that stretch back 105 feet.

Initially there was some reluctance to the lot sizes, says Holitzner's Lee Nicholson.

"Then people compare, come back and realize that for the sake of a foot or two between homes, they are getting good value for their dollar."

The slim lots didn't faze Carolyn and Chuck Vollicks. In fact, they didn't want a big lot because they work crazy hours and spend a lot of time visiting family in Northern Ontario and playing golf.

"We also like to travel," says Carolyn Vollicks, who is the co-ordinator of recreation and creative art service at the Perley Rideau Hospital.

The two, both 47, grew up in modest bungalows in Espanola, Ont., near Sudbury, and wanted to find something similar in Ottawa. They had been searching for the past four years and found exactly what they wanted in Fraser Fields: The Heartstone by Holitzner is a 1,286-square-foot bungalow for $358,900 with two bedrooms and room to grow in the basement.

"We didn't want and didn't need a big 3,000-square-foot home," she says, adding the bungalow is a very similar layout to, but smaller than, their current townhome in Barrhaven.

"It will be about the same size after we finish the basement," says Vollicks, who frequently asked her husband to pull out his measuring tape when they were planning the move and buying furniture.

The two are packing, getting ready for their move on Tuesday. "Then I will be laying down tape, mapping out rooms in the basement," says Vollicks.

Anuj and Shvetna Joshi have gone bigger and taller in their quest for a singlefamily home, buying an innovative threestorey Tartan home, the Vaughan, on a 38-foot lot in the Stittsville community of Jackson Trails.

It was the third-storey loft that sold the couple. "We like watching movies and it's perfect for setting up a media room," Anuj says. His mother, Raj, will also live in the four-bedroom home that has 3,071 square feet of living space.

The couple -he's 30, she's 28 -looked at big singles on big lots, but they were just too big, too overpowering and too expensive.

"We are a young couple and want to start a family in a few years, so we want the space," says Shvetna, adding the design is modern, unique and suits their lifestyle.

"Anuj's mother will have one bedroom and we will have two more for a family. The house will suit our needs," she says.

The slimmer lot and taller design means the Vaughan is priced under $500,000.

The three-storey design is actually the idea of Ian Nicol, president of Tartan Homes, who saw a similar design in Toronto many years ago. He first refined the plan for his own family and a custom home he built on a 33-foot lot in the Glebe six years ago.

"The Vaughan has the same loft idea as my own home," says Nicol, who used technology and a combination of roof trusses and floor joists to grab extra height without pushing the profile high above neighbouring two-storey homes. "We are utilizing extra inside space that would have been in an attic."

He introduced the three-storey home in May 2010 and plans to offer the high, lean concept in several Tartan communities in the coming months.

It's all about land prices and maintaining affordability, says Holitzner president Carmen Fleguel.

Today slim is the new economic reality as land prices have zoomed from $1,000 a linear foot a decade ago to $2,500 to $2,600 today, says Patrick Meeds, managing director of the new home division for PMA Brethour, a research and marketing firm that works with many of Ottawa's builders. There are even instances of lots selling for $3,000 to $3,500 a linear foot, adds Phoenix Homes vice-president of operations Rahul Kochar.

"It is a retail price for a serviced lot we might sell to someone who wants to build their own custom home in one of our communities."

Land prices aren't going to get any cheaper and building costs will continue to go up, making it difficult to come up with an affordable home, confirms Nicol.

As it is, single-family homes are controlling a diminishing share of the new home market, partly because of affordability and the fact that young, first-time buyers, along with older couples who are shucking off their large family homes, are driving a market that is dominated by townhouses and condos, says Meeds.

The shift away from single-family homes has been gaining momentum, he says. In 2009, single homes accounted for 37 per cent of the 5,700 new homes sold across the city. A year later, the share had dropped to 33 per cent of the 5,000 homes sold.

A closer examination of sales shows a full 70 per cent of all single-family homes sold were on 38-to 45-foot lots. Big lots, at 50 feet, were a slim slice of the market, as were the ultra-slim 30-foot product, says Meeds.

"There are some design compromises when you go under 37 feet. Under 35 feet and there is room for a single-car garage, not a double."

Yet designers have been creative with these narrow homes, including Phoenix's 1,523-square-foot Blackcomb for just over $400,000 in the west-end community of Heritage Hills to its 2,606-squarefoot Cardiff in the same community for over $460,000.

Mattamy's three-bedroom Ridgemont, an appealing single-family home planned for Half Moon Bay, sits on a 30-foot lot, yet features many exterior details, including a big front porch and single-car garage. At $326,990, the 1,770-square-foot home is directly aimed at younger buyers on a tight budget, who want to live in a single-family home.

"It is an affordable option and I believe it is going to gain popularity in the east end," says Bob Ridley, president of Ottawa operations for Mattamy Homes.

These energy-smart performers have lots of exterior detailing, including careful attention to garage doors. And while there isn't room for a swimming pool in the backyard, Mattamy offers splash pads in parks in their communities.

It's the slim reality of home ownership in a growing city, where land is golden.

Ottawa Citizen

Sheila Brady is a regular contributor to Homes. You can reach her at sbrady.brown@gmail.com

WHAT THE BUILDERS ARE OFFERING

Claridge (claridgehomes.com) Two-storey and single homes on 30-foot lots at Sundance in Findlay Creek; 37-foot lots in various communities, including Summerhill Village, and prices starting at $380,000.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.